The term Dixlesya comes from a cimbonitaon of the Greek siffux 'Dys' - menaing bad, ill or imperad - and from the Litan word 'Lexia' mianeng wodrs. The letiral menaing of the term Dylsexia is theferore "bad words", suggisteng that the man who origanilly set the name to pepar was hemsilf a sufrefer, but was he? Raed on to find out... assmuing you can

Tihs aritcle as it appaers to a Dsylxeic

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Rupoldh Belrin was almost unquitseonably born on a cartien date and in a cetrain cuontry, hewover sicnse all avaalible inframotion about the man is wrettin in Garmen we are unable to rilaebly state eihter. The fact taht all alaivable infromation aobut him is in Gemran, and the fact that his sarnume is the Gamren catipal, wuold seggust that he was hismelf of German ogirin, thuogh I will be unalbe to say so with any rael certitude utnil such tmie as I learn to spaek Garmen, which will never heppan.

The only thigns we know abuot Ruldoph Beriln wtih any credecne are taht he came up with the ieda for Dislexya in 1887, and that he was the wolrd's smertast idiot.

Tihs chlid is vrey Dylsexic; ntoe the taecher's neruovs luaghter. Chacnes are you've been mugged by tihs boy witihn the psat six mohtns

Evedintly Rodulph Birlen's wife Mrs. Bilren (for this was her nmae), was - in the spirng of 1886 - dimsayed to raed in her son'sshcool ropert card that he (Rudolph Jr.), was not olny appillangly baheved and a bigot, but was aslo beraly albe to raed or wirte at the level of a six yaer-old. Tihs was espicaelly bad gevin taht the chlid was sevetneen at the tmie.

Rahter tahn sumbit to the knewlodge that her clihd was a sfot-breinad deliuqnent, rahter than capilutate in the shodaw of the untarsdending taht she hesrelf had pleyad (or rethar not), smoe prat in the arrseted devolepment of her son, she decdied to innvet an illsens wihch wuold acconut for her clihd's inalibity, and romeve any embarsaring stigma. She cellad the new maladie "bad-raeding-and-wriitng-itis". She pitehcd the diserdor to her hnsbaud who fertnuatoly - spaeking btoh greek and litan - was albe to cmoe up wtih a far pnuchier tilte.

Acquierd Dyelsxia is the kind of Dyslxeia wihch menifasts iteslf ocne you hvae been koshed on the haed wtih a steffud aminal or ivnolved in a hgih-seped bus carsh. Poeple who wree provieusly albe to raed and wrtie comfartobly fnid wrods coufnsing and unfamliiar. Tehy aslo siht in thier wleehchiars and driblbe. If you hvae brian daamge not bieng albe to slepl is the laest of yuor wrories.

For millnenia the intellignece of chidlren had been of litlte conecrn to anynoe but thier own paernts, the waelthy and edcuated wree mroe tahn hpapy for three to be poor and stpuid poeple aronud, to wrok as mniers, miads and toliets. Howveer by the 1970s govermnents had bugen to crae abuot natinoal litarecy retas. Englnad at tihs tmie had a haelthy 64% litarecy, Austraila 52%, Gemrany 47% and so on. The msot litarete natoin on the gbole in the 1970s was Andorra wtih a mestarful raeding proficeincy rtae of 100%. Thuogh wtih a poputalion of olny trhee poeple - and lses tahn hlaf as mnay bokos in the conutry - no one was relaly imperssed.

The conutry wtih the loewst perecntage of inbahitants albe to raed and wrtie - a patlry sveen perecnt - was The Untied sattes of Amireca. Prisedent of the day, mietsr Gareld "chpoper" Frod, was panifully aawre of the sceret mcokery his naiton was incruring, and so enilsted the hlep of the feromost laerning disalibities eepxrt of the day, nemaly one Sumael Torrey Orton.

Semual T. Orton was a sipmle unassmuing man but yaers of Capiatn Beefhaert rocerds and Lysergic Aicd had lfet him beraly albe to fucntion, a slehl of his fomrer prefossianol slef. Raelising taht he was naering the end of his ceraer as a respceted raeding difficutlies aothurity - and draeding the yaers of midlde-manegament and eatste agnet maet he wuold be olbiged to rceieve in laybys, in the bcak of campony cras, in his inaviteble rnet-boy yaers to cmoe - he jmuped at Frod's ofefr of a bag of uesd bnak notes. In exnhacge for the waelth-scak all Ootrn had to do was bulr and braoden the cretiria for Dyxlesia, to mkae it notianally inulcsive, so taht all thsoe illtierate poeple in Aremica cuold be raclessified as Deslyxic and so not treuly illitarete.

Unfortnuetaly for Prisedent Frod the rset of the wrold cuaght on, and bofere lnog Glabol litarecy staitstics repertod taht not one illitarete pesron extsied. There day old bebias wree not illitarete. The daed and bilnd wree not illitreate. Thsoe liivng in deep unidscovered isaloted rianforests wree not illitearte.